the BEACON Newspaper, Indiana beacon6-18 | Page 4

Page 4A THE BEACON June 2018 Hoosier Hills Encourages Literacy For All- One Book at a Time Continued from page 1A have free education, free tutoring. We also offer certi- fications so students can get a CDL, they can get certifica- tion in welding, Med-Assist, hospitality - there are all kinds of certifications they can get … and if you’re in school or working, we offer free child- care.” Mrs. Geglein says, says, “That’s a problem - business- es are hiring people who don’t have high school diplomas because they’re so short on employees. So we’ve been going to the businesses and saying please don’t hire them, or if you do, make it contin- gent on them getting a high school education.” According to Literacy Partners, 36 million adults in America need help with literacy, but only 3 million of them will actually receive it. And illiteracy is expensive, costing individuals and busi- nesses $20 billion each year. Mrs. Geglein urges the public to help combat il- literacy. She says, “If they know of anyone who can’t read or doesn’t have a high school diploma, please refer them to us. Illiteracy costs money; there are statistics on what it costs in healthcare because people take their own prescription incorrectly, or they give their kids the wrong dose; what it costs in financial literacy when they don’t know how to balance a checkbook and bounce checks. When parents don’t read, they can’t read to their kids … and their children are going to suffer, they’re going to lag behind in the schools - and these kids who can’t read, they’re being pushed through the schools.” Mrs. Priebe recruits tu- tors and welcomes students struggling with foundational literacy. She says, “I have students that are English Lan- guage Learners, and some- times it’s not ESL [English as a Second Language] or third or fourth. I have a Russian woman, and she knows four or five languages already. There are young ladies from Asia who met their husbands online and are here studying. They are married to these American born people, and they are smart as a whip … They know what they want to do … their challenges are cultural, not intellectual.” Mrs. Geglein says, “I have a Jamaican student, and I have a tutor who is starting to work with a Venezuelan girl, and I’m going to have a tutor working with a lady from India.” Students range from el- ementary school-age to the octogenarian gentleman who received tutoring at a lo- cal rest home. “Tutors can request age groups - we’re not going to put you with some- one you’re not comfortable with,” Mrs. Priebe says. “The demographics of our clientele include everything, so our tu- tor training deals with strate- gies to help individuals who have undiagnosed learning disabilities, coping skills.” Hoosier Hills Literacy League works with women in the JCAP program to make spiral bound picture books for their families using donated materials. Based on the book I Love You the Purplest, these mothers write about the ways they love their children. Mrs. Priebe says, “They thought of things that reminded them of their children. These books are their personal thing.” Seventy-five percent of state prison inmates do not have a high school diploma or can be classified as low literate. Mrs. Priebe says, “In 2017, we touched 50 adults, and that in- cludes jail independent study … We haven’t had anybody recently; as you can imagine it’s hard to do your homework when you’re in the jail, but we had some really dedicated individuals. “I go over there once a month face to face, and weekly I give them assign- ments, so yes, that’s really independent study. Several of them did make progress, and then, if they were transferred to prison, I contact the State Prison where they can bypass some of the initial testing, and if they’re released, I’ve got their address and I try to refer them to whatever organiza- tion, send them information, but it’s up to them to follow through. There are so many different components.” Mrs. Priebe says, “Our cli- entele is not always consistent in attendance, so even when we’ve got the attention of someone who wants to tutor, we might have no students. Or Leaving an English Language Learners class are Nhung Russell, Qingfa Wagner and Tam Rodmaker. Photo by Laura Priebe. Laura Priebe, Literacy Ad- ministrator, and Janice Lay, a Hoosier Hills Literacy League student, attend a recent United Way event. United Way of Greater Cincinnati is the founder for the Adult Literacy program. Photo by Laura Priebe. I’ve got students but no trained tutors because when some- one wants to volunteer, they want to be busy now, and you can’t say well we don’t have anybody, because they’ll find something else.” But anyone dedicated to volunteering with literacy can take online train- ing, broken into 15-20 minute, topic-focused modules. There are many ways to contribute besides tutoring: donating school supplies and gift cards or volunteering as a guest speaker for Adult Education classes. Families Tracy Geglein, Adult Liter- acy Coordinator with River Valley Resources. Photo by Susan Ray. can enjoy literacy scavenger hunts, and the annual Vil- lage Lights Bookstore/River Valley Resources bake sale in downtown Madison. In Dear- born County, game nights and Scrabble tournaments at Great Crescent Brewery are fun ways to support literacy. The second of three HHLL silent auctions gets underway on June 7th in the Aurora Public Library, coming to a close after children’s singer/ Continued on page 5A Personal Service that is State-of-the-Art What sets DeVille Pharmacies apart? Our commitment to personal service. We offer prescription services and medical supplies, complimented by our dedication to exceeding your expectations. Our new service includes creating personal prescription packets that are created just for you with the medications you need on a daily basis. We also follow up regularly to ensure that your pharmaceutical needs are being met. Take the time to get to know the people at DeVille Pharmacies. We will take the time to get to know you- personally. DeVille’s Dillsboro Drug Store 12836 North St. Dillsboro, IN 47018 812-432-5684 DeVille’s Rising S